The Broken Peach
by lil'sayuri-chan
Summary: For 6 years Hitsugaya thought, Momo died in an accident but suddenly she stands in front of him, saying everything was a misunderstanding. At first Momo seems to be normal but Hitsugaya noctices that she's actually horribly afraid of something...
1. Chapter 1

**Don't ask me how I came up with the idea for this story****, it came simply into my mind, but I hope you like it anyway XD**

**This is going to be my first long story, so please review and tell me what you think of it! **

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**Chapter 1**

_"Will you miss me Shiro-chan?" 10-year-old Momo sounded like she would start crying any second._

"_Don't call me Shiro-chan," Toshiro said, ignoring her question. It was a stupid one anyway. Of cause he would miss her. They knew each other since they were born and now Momo was about to move to Tokyo in order to live with her father._

_Toshiro was worried but didn't show it. Who would protect her when he wasn't around? Who would comfort her when she was hurt? And who would keep her save during the thunderstorm in the night?_

_Momo was only one year younger than Toshiro, but in his eyes she was still a little girl who needed to be looked after and the boy had the immense urge to be the one looking after her._

_Today was the day they had to say good-bye and while Momo started crying, Toshiro rarely showed any emotions._

"_As soon as I'm old enough I'll come back, I promise," Momo sobbed." A-and until then we'll call each other every day, okay?_

"_Hn," was the only sound her friend made. He didn't want her to go. He loved Momo more than everything in the world and couldn't imagine a life without her._

_Momo caught him of-guard by suddenly pulling him into a tight hug. Toshiro was able to prevent both of them falling to the ground. He inhaled her scent, trying to memorize it forever._

"_I will miss you," the girl said. "Bye Shiro-chan." For once Toshiro let her call him by that stupid name without snapping back at her._

"_Take care of yourself, bed-wetter," he said quietly. Momo pulled back and smiled lightly with tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she turned around hurrying to her father's car._

_Toshiro watched them drive away and forced his own tears back._

_He wouldn't cry. Crying was weak and he had to be strong for Momo. If she couldn't bear the sorrow of leaving him, he had to be strong for her and himself._

_The boy turned around and went slowly back into his house._

_Back than he didn't knew, that he would never be able to see his childhood friend again._

_---- "Toshiro!" Momo yelled through the phone "My dad will have to go to Spain for a week in order to settle some business matters and he said I can come with him if I want! I'm so excited, Shiro-chan!! It'll be my first flight in a plane!!"----_

_---- "Toshiro... There had been a terrible accident. Two planes clashed into each other at the Tokyo airport. No one survived... I'm so sorry..." Momo and her father had been in one of these planes... She won't call again. She wouldn't come back when she's older, either. She was... dead...----_

RING RING RING

Hitsugayas hand crashed down on his alarm clock, silencing it immediately. The 17-year old teenager sighed and opened his eyes, blinking a few times because of sunlight falling through the window next to his bed. With the back of his hand he wiped the sweat on his forehead away.

God, he hated these nightmares. For years he dreamed every night of the last time when he had seen his child hood friend, but he just couldn't get used to them. Maybe it was because he thought it was all his fault. If he wouldn't have let her go she would still be with him.

Hitsugaya stood up, not wanting to think about that anymore.

He went to his closet and pulled his school uniform out. He got fully dressed and looked at his reflection in the mirror at the wall to his left. He had grown over the past few years. His face was emotionless and handsome, his hair was as messy as always and his eyes had still a cold turquoise color. His body was muscular since he played a lot of football and jogged a few miles every day to keep his condition up.

Hitsugaya sighed, grabbed his bag and went out of his room. He walked down the stairs and turned right. After he had passed three differed doors, another stair and again two doors he finally reached the kitchen, where some of his friends were already eating breakfast.

"Hey Toshiro!" greeted Ichigo, who was eating some toast with a fried egg.

"It's Hitsugaya," snapped Hitsugaya back while taking a seat at the long table.

Ichigo completely ignored him and took another big bite of his toast.

"Good morning Hitsugaya," said Orihime and placed a plate and a fork in front of the white haired teenager.

"Mhm," Hitsugaya just made, picking the fork up and started eating the pancakes Orihime had made. Since they had forced her to take some cooking lessons and allowed her only to use recipes they had looked at, her cooking was kinda eatable.

"Where's Rangiku?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Still sleeping," Renji who was sitting next to Ichigo replied. "She probably has a hangover from the drinking party with Hisagi and Kira yesterday night and wants to skip school..."

Hitsugaya groaned and stood up.

"She's unbelievable," he muttered and walked out of the kitchen.

He went through a corridor with red walls until he stood in front of a green door with a shield on it saying "Come in and you'll regret it". Without giving the shield a second look, Hitsugaya burst in the room. It was a real mess. The ground was covered with clothes, wherever the boy looked stood sake and vodka bottles and in the middle of all that laid a snoring blonde woman.

It seemed like she hadn't even made it to her bed last night before falling asleep on the floor.

Hitsugaya growled and yelled form the top of his lungs "MATSUMOTO!!"

Said woman jumped at least 5 feet high. "Did something happen?" she asked sleepy. "Whatever it is, it wasn't me!"

"What do you think you're doing, Rangiku?" Hitsugaya asked in a dangerous voice. "You're not thinking about skipping school again, do you?"

"Didn't Renji tell you that I'm not feeling well, Taicho? I think I'm getting a fever." She held one of her hands against her forehead to show her "high temperature"

"Yes he did, and he told me about your drinking party last night, too," Hitsugaya said, glaring at her.

Rangiku muttered something under her breath but Hitsugaya could clearly understand the words "Damn" and "that traitor".

"You'll go to school today and if you don't, you won't get any alcohol the next month," he commanded and without looking back at Rangiku he walked out of the room.

Back in the kitchen Hitsugaya finished his breakfast.

"I hope you weren't too hard to Rangiku," Orihime said.

"I simply told her to go to school," Hitsugaya stated and pulled his history book out of his bag.

"Simply told her?" Ichigo laughed. "We could understand every single word you yelled!"

Hitsugaya glared at the orange haired guy on the other side of the table. "That's just because her room is near to the kitchen," he defended himself.

Ichigo was just about to reply something when Rukia walked in. "Keep your next comment for yourself Ichigo." She yawned. "It'll just end up in a fight and we all know you wouldn't win against Hitsugaya." Said white haired boy smirked and opened his history book, looking at some text they had talked about in the last lesson.

While Rukia ate her breakfast Ichigo and Renji started discussing about the baseball match on TV and Orihime cleaned the dishes.

"Owww... My head hurts," Rangiku whined as she finally came through the door. "Can't I stay home?"

"No," Hitsugaya snapped and stood up.

"You're mean, Taicho," Rangiku complained.

"Just shut up and let's go already."

"But I hadn't any breakfast yet!"

"It's not my fault that you stood up so late. The next time think about it, before you drink in the middle of the week," Hitsugaya said and walked out of the room. The others followed him and together they went out of the house and to the bus stop a few hundred meters away.

Everyone tried to ignore Rangikus complaining about not having anything to eat. 'It's going to be a long day' Hitsugaya said to himself.

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**That's it!! First chapter done!!**

**Please review to tell me what you think of it and whether I should continue...**

**But THANKS for reading anyway!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys!**

**Here's the second chapter and I hope you'll like it XD**

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Momo took a deep breath. Hesitantly she pushed the doorbell and waited with her heart pounding in her chest. After a few seconds she could hear someone approaching the door and when it swung open she looked in the face of a black-haired teenager.

"Can I help you?" His voice was friendly but the girl couldn't help but to get a bit scared. She didn't like being around any men even if they seemed to be gentle.

"W-Well," she stuttered. "Is Toshiro Hitsugaya living here?" The boy looked at her and his expression suddenly got annoyed.

"No," he simply said and Momo's hopes were crushed at once. She had hoped her childhood friend would still live in the little house like he did six years ago. How was she supposed to find him now?

"Is it possible that you know where I can find him?" She asked and the teen rolled his eyes.

"You're just another fangirl, aren't you?" He snapped and Momo winced at his harsh voice.

"Fangirl?" She asked completely scared now.

Just when the boy was about to answer a hand laid down on his shoulder pushing him gently back and guy with blond hair stepped in front of him.

"Yumichika, what are you doing?" He asked. "The girl looks totally scared."

"Just another stupid fangirl of Hitsugaya." Yumichika growled "I'll leave her to you. But don't dare telling her where he lives! He'll kill us if you do so."

The blond guy just nodded, turning his attention now to Momo.

"I'm sorry for his behaviour ," he started "but we all are kinda annoyed by Hitsugayas lovers, who are coming here to see him. He moved away a while ago and if you want to tell him something, please do that when you see him at school..."

The still scared Momo looked at him in surprise. Her friend had _fangirls_?!

"T-Toshiro has fangirls?" She asked

"Don't pretend you aren't one of them."

"Of course I'm not! Why would I be a fangirl of him?" The teen eyed Momo with a surprised look. Usually every girl would have admitted to be one of Hitsugaya's lovers by now and why was that girl calling him 'Toshiro'? Everyone knew that nobody was allowed to call him by his first name and no one dared to call him 'Toshiro'. Did this girl know him?

"I'm his childhood friend," Momo answered his unasked question. "I haven't seen him for years and wanted to surprise him." The boy eyed her suspiciously but he seemed to believe her, he even felt a bit sorry for the girl since she looked like she would start to cry.

"Fine," he finally said. "Come on, I'll drive you to his house."

Momo stared at him, as he closed the door and went past her to a small red car. Why was he driving her to Toshiro? It would have been enough if he would've just told her where he lived. Hesitantly she followed him and slid on the passenger seat. Instinctively she tensed when the boy sat down next to her, closing the door and starting the car.

"I'm Kira," he introduced himself.

"I'm Momo," the girl answered trying to stay calm. She hated being close to men especially when they were strangers. She couldn't help but to imagine what Kira could do to her but she tried to force those thoughts away. 'Kira seems to be a nice person,' she told herself. 'He won't do anything to me'.

While watching the houses passing by, Momo's thoughts wandered to Toshiro and her heart got heavy. She hadn't seen him for so many years and she was almost afraid of his reaction when he saw her again. She knew that he thought she was dead and he would probably be really angry because she never called him. But it hadn't been her fault. _They_ didn't let her call, _they_ had forced her to cut down any contacts she had so she couldn't ask anyone for help.

Now Toshiro was the only one she could go to since he was the only person she trusted and who could protect her. She didn't knew what she would do when he sent her away but she would certainly not go back to _them._

It took them half an hour to get to the other side of Karakura Town and neither Kira nor Momo said something during the way. Kira couldn't come up with some topic since he noticed the girls uneasiness and he didn't want to make it worse by saying anything wrong. But when they finally reached the house where Hitsugaya lived he said. "We're here..."

Momo just nodded and as fast as she could she jumped out of the car. When she turned around her jaw dropped.

They stood in front of a huge and beautiful white house with a nice front garden. In the house's driveway stood four expensive looking cars and two motorbikes.

Momo and Kira walked through the front gate passing some beautiful flowers and a blooming peach tree.

Kira climbed up the three steps at the front door and stopped looking back at Momo. He gave her an encouraging smile before he pushed the bell.

Almost immediately the door flew open exposing a big-breasted woman with a big grin.

"Kira, my drinking buddy!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you wouldn't come before eight! Don't tell me that you want to introduce your new girlfriend to us," she said with a cheeky glimpse at Momo who stood a few meters behind the boy.

"That's not my girlfriend, Rangiku," he said blushing. "Actually she's-" He couldn't say anything more because Rangiku already went back inside yelling. "Close the door behind you!!"

Kira turned to Momo and gave her an apologetic look. "She's always a bit crazy," he said and motioned the girl to go inside.

They stepped into a nice hallway and Kira showed her where she could leave her jacked and shoes. Momo put the little back, which she was carrying the whole time, on the floor next to her black shoes and went with Kira through a door left to them. They came into a huge living room with a blue couch, a huge flat screen TV and a chimney. The color of the carpet on the ground matched perfectly the color of the couch and the curtains.

They walked to the other side of the room and reached the kitchen where Rangiku and a few other people sat on a table eating some pizza.

"Hey Kira," said a red-haired guy and Kira took a seat beside him.

"So Kira," Rangiku began, while eating her pizza peace. "Mind telling us who your girlfriend is?" Kira sighed.

"She's not my girlfriend," he said. "Actually, I only met her about half an hour ago... She wanted to see Hitsugaya." Rangiku almost choked because of the pizza she was just chewing.

"Are you nuts?!" She asked.

"He'll kill you when he finds out that you brought a fangirl to our house!" Said a small black-haired girl. Kira looked at Momo who was still standing at the kitchen door.

"You can sit down," he said. "They won't bite you." Momo did as she was told and sat down between Rangiku and another red-haired girl.

"She said she is a childhood friend of him and her behavior wasn't fangirl-like at all..."

"Sure and I'm Santa Claus," the guy next to Kira said. "Never heard of the activity called 'acting'?"

"I don't thing she's lying..." Rangiku mumbled pensive and everyone, including Momo, turned their heads towards her.

"How do you want to know?" The girl to Momo's other side asked.

"You know that picture Taicho has in his room?" Rangiku asked and the guys nodded. "It shows a little girl hugging him from behind when he was younger. The only thing he ever said about her was that this girl was his childhood friend and that she... died in an accident..."

Momo felt the gaze of everyone in the room on her and stared fixedly at her hands in her lab.

"Now that you mention it... She looks kinda like that girl," the red-haired one said.

"What's you name?" Rangiku asked her.

"Momo Hinamori"

"Is it true that you're his childhood friend?" Momo nodded.

"Then why is he saying that you're dead?" The girl tensed and forced herself not to jump up and run out of the room. She'd hoped that she wouldn't have to talk about that because it always hurt but it seemed like she had no other choice.

"Well," she started but she stopped when they heard the front door close loudly and a voice calling. "Yo guy's! We're back!"

"Hitsugaya is back!" Rangiku exclaimed and rushed out of the kitchen. Kira followed her and waved Momo to come with him.

Momo stood up and went slowly back into the living room but froze when she heard someone speaking. "Matsumoto, get off of me!"

The voice was familiar and Momo knew immediately whom it belonged to.

~XXXXXXXX~

Hitsugaya was just about to take his shoes off when Rangiku ran into the door hugging him tightly. This was one of those moments where he was thankful that he'd grown pretty tall over the past years so that he wouldn't get suffocated by Rangikus breasts.

"Matsumoto, get off me!" He commanded, pushing her away. Ichigo behind him laughed.

"Taicho, I have a question," Rangiku said while Hitsugaya kicked his shoes aside.

"No, Rangiku, we won't throw a party," he said thinking that was what she wanted to ask.

"That's not what I wanted to ask you. I wanted to know why you told us that Momo Hinamori is dead."

Immediately the room temperature dropped a few degrees.

"How do you know her name?" He growled and could see the slight fear in the woman's eyes.

"Because she told me," she said and it got even colder.

"That's impossible because she's dead." Hitsugaya snapped and took a few steps forward to get closer to Rangiku. He was now in the living room but hasn't noticed the girl yet who was standing there looking at him with a scared look.

"Well... To me she seemed quite alive." Rangiku said stepping aside so that Hitsugaya could finally see the girl.

Turquoise eyes met chocolate brown ones and Hitsugaya's heart stood still.

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**I hope you liked it! It took me forever to figure a good start out but I came up with a good idea (more or less XD )**

**Please review!**

**~greetings***


	3. Chapter 3

_***yay* the 3. chapter is finally done XD**_

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_Impossible_

That was the only thing Hitsugaya could think. Like a statue he stood in the room and stared at the thin girl a few feet away from him. It couldn't possibly be _her_, right?

The teen couldn't think properly. He was unable to keep his thoughts in order anymore. Pictures of his childhood flashed through his mind. Pictures of himself and a little girl, playing in his house, protecting each other, having fun together... Hitsugaya tried desperately to figure the connection between his friend and the person in front of him out. There was no way that this person was actually her!

But their faces were so similar.

Too similar.

_Impossible_

"Who's that?" Hitsugaya's voice was ice cold causing everyone around to shiver and when he didn't got an answer Hitsugaya focused on _her_.

"Who the hell are you?" This time he yelled. Everyone flinched but he only saw the scared look in the girl's eyes. He knew that look. He'd seen it so many time before, especially during thunderstorms.

Hitsugaya didn't notice that he was moving until he stood right in front of her. The girl was frightened by the cold stare in his eyes and tried to back a few steps away from him but before she could get out of his reach Hitsugaya grabbed her rudely by the shoulders, holding her in place.

"Tell me your name," he growled, shaking her in his confusion. Instead of the girl Rangiku answered.

"Taicho..." She whispered but her voice was still loud enough for everyone to hear. "That's your childhood friend Momo Hina-" She was cut off by a furious Hitsugaya.

"Don't lie!" He yelled at her. "She died years ago!"

He was beyond confused. Momo, the little bed-wetter died six years ago in that accident. And even as much as Hitsugaya wanted her to be alive, he'd been sure that she was dead.

But that girl in front of him looked so much like her.

She had the same big, brown eyes, the chocolate-brown hair. Everything was the same. Her nose, her mouth, the way she used to look at him when he'd been angry. So afraid.

God even her scent was the same! The light scent of peaches.

_Impossible_

"I-it was a-an misunderstanding..." Hitsugaya looked from Rangiku back to the girl. Did she just speak? Her voice had been so low that he wasn't sure whether it was his imagination but from the way she looked at him he figured that he'd heart right.

The girl couldn't hold her tears back. They rolled over her cheeks and fell onto the carpet. Hitsugaya stared at her. "Who are you?" He asked once more but this time he didn't find the strength within him to yell.

"I-I'm so s-sorry," she sobbed. "R-Really, I'm so s-sorry Shiro-chan..."

That was it. _Shiro-chan_. Hitsugaya felt like someone had just punched him in the face with full force.

_Shiro-chan_. Only one Person knew that pet name: The bed-wetter Momo Hinamori.

This was too much to take, even for the white- haired prodigy. The only thing he knew was that he had to get away. Immediately. He needed to be alone or he'd lose it.

Without giving it a second thought he stormed out of the room, ignoring Rangiku who yelled after him "Taicho, wait!"

As fast as he could he rushed to his room and slammed the door shut.

XXXXXXXXXX

Everything in the living room was quiet. The only sound came from the silently crying girl. Ichigo was the first one who got his voice back.

"Mind telling me what that was about? I've never seen Toshiro that upset- OW! What was that for Rukia?!" Rukia glared at him.

"Watch what you're saying, moron!" She yelled at him "Can't you see that you're just making it worse for her?" The orange- haired teen turned to Momo who had pressed her hands against her mouth to suppress her sobs. He sighed and walked to her, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention.. The girl jumped lightly, backing away from him. Ichigo gave her a weird look but decided to keep any commands to himself since her eyes held something like fear within them.

"Well..." He started. "I'm Ichigo and these guys are Orihime," – he pointed to one of the girls with the big boobs – "Renji, Kira and Rangiku" Momo had already forgotten the name of the blond teenager and was glad when Ichigo introduced him again, not knowing that they had already met. "And that midget over there is Rukia." That earned him another slap from the girl.

"Damn it Rukia! Stop hitting me the whole time!!", "Shut up stupid strawberry!"- and an argument started.

Momo stared at them. The way they fought had something strange in it... They yelled, cursed and even hit each other but Momo still sensed something lovingly and friendly between them. Momo was so busy watching them that she even forgot to cry until she was pulled back to reality when someone tapped her on the shoulder again. The girl jerked and turned around. "Don't worry about these idiots," Rangiku said to her " They always fight every five minutes..." Momo nodded and looked back to the ground. Noticing the girl's depression, Rangiku sighed. "Listen," she said "I know your worried about Taicho's reaction but he'll calm down soon enough."

Momo wanted to believe her but the image of Toshiro's upset face came back to her mind. He looked so angry...

"No," she whispered. "He hates me." Again The girl felt tears well up in her eyes.

Toshiro hated her.

He didn't wanted her in his life anymore.

"That's not true!" The other girl with red hair called out. What was her name again? Orihime? "Hitsugaya is simply confused! I'm sure he's actually more than happy to see you again!"

"That's right! And until he got a grip you can stay here." Rukia smiled. Seemed like she and Ichigo had solved their fight.

"N-No! I-It's okay! I-I can stay somewhere else..." Momo protested weakly. But Rangiku wouldn't let her.

"Nonsense!" She chirped. "I'm sure Taicho would kill us if we'd let you leave! Just wait a few hours and you two will be the best friends again!"

A small hope built up in Momo's heart. Maybe her friend could forgive her. Maybe she'll be able to stay with him and maybe she could become happy once more in her life.

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**So what do you think? Hope you liked it!**

**Sorry for the late update but I had so much to do (school, training...).**

**Please review, 'kay? I could use some inspiration XD**

**~greetings***


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long wait! The A/N at the end of the chapter is important so please read it but enjoy the 4. chapter of "The Broken Peach" first XD**

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The sun had almost completely disappeared behind the horizon and the trees in the front garden threw long shadows on the grass. Momo stood at the window of the large living room, starred on the peaceful street. She hadn't moved for something like an hour and hadn't thought about anything either. Her mind was simply blank.

After Hitsugaya's outburst Kira, Rangiku and Renji had went outside in the garden behind the house to drink sake as if their life depends on it and Ichigo sat on the couch watching TV. From time to time Momo heard him chuckle over something in a comedy show but she didn't care to turn around to see what's so funny. She'd never been a big fan of such shows...

Rukia and Orihime had gone into the kitchen and due to the smell which came slowly across the room Momo figured that they were preparing dinner together.

With her gaze still fixed on something outside Momo noticed a girl and her little dog passing by. Momo didn't knew the race of the dog but he was completely white except from the brown ears. It could be a terrier. (A/N: My dog looks like that and believe me he's so sweet XD). The fur of the animal had such a pure white that it reflected a little the remaining sunlight. Just like Toshiro's hair... By the thought of that certain white-haired boy Momo's heart hurt lightly. Shortly after his outburst Rangiku had gone upstairs and tried to talk to him but he'd locked his room from the inside and didn't even responded to her once. After five or ten minutes Rangiku gave up and left him finally alone.

Even though Momo had expected him to be angry or confused she's still had the slight hope that he would be happy to see her alive after all. But her hopes were shattered into many little pieces when he yelled at her and his friends. The way he had looked at her made her shiver.

The girl was almost certain that he never wanted to see her again, far less letting her stay at the house he lived in. But she was still relieved when his friends had offered her to stay with them for a while. Momo couldn't help but wonder whether Toshiro would care if she slept on the street - because she really had no where else to go. It wasn't like she was afraid of the dark or the coldness, after all she was kinda used to sleep outside... The things she was really scared about was what some strangers could do to her while she was asleep. They could hurt her... They could touch her... Momo could feel hands travel forcefully over her fragile body. The girl started shaking. She couldn't do anything against it! She heard voices laughing evilly... They laughed at the pathetic state she was is, calling her a stupid doll, a slut, a cheap whore. Breathing got harder and harder and harder...

Momo clenched her small fists as tight as she could trying to breath calmly again. There was no way that she could allow herself to lose control about this. What would Toshiro think when he found out about this?

_No!_ Momo forced her mind away from these thoughts. She needed to calm down and concentrate on something else. She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and let the air slowly escape through her pale lips.

Momo opened her brown eyes again and turned finally away from the window. Ichigo sat still on the couch but it didn't seemed like he had noticed the change in Momo's behavior a few seconds ago. Instead he zapped bored through the program until he found some crime thriller which seemed to be interesting.

Momo's view stopped at the door leading to the kitchen where the smell of the dinner came from. Maybe she could help a bit to distract herself a bit.

Slowly she went across the room, carefully making sure to give Ichigo a wide berth. She slipped into the kitchen and saw Orihime standing at the stove rolling some small meatballs and Rukia sitting at the table. The black haired girl looked up from the paper she was drawing something on and met Momo's gaze.

"Something wrong?" she asked friendly.

"Well... I-I don't want to be a burden but I thought maybe I could help a bit since I'm staying here without a real invitation..." She said and looked shyly on the floor.

"You aren't a burden Momo!" Orihime smiled. "Rangiku invited you to stay remember? It is a real invitation and besides, friends can always stay here as long as they want so don't worry."

_Friend_? Did Orihime considered Momo as a _friend_? The girl highly doubted that. The past six years no one thought of her as something even near a friend so why should Orihime be different, especially when she barely knew her.

"You can help me cutting the tomatoes if you want! I thought about cooking some pasta and I still need to prepare the tomato sauce." Not saying anything, Momo nodded and stepped over to the cutting board and the knife Orihime positioned next to her. She gripped one of the tomatoes and started cutting it into little pieces. Within a few minutes she had finished most of the fruits which earned her a surprised look from Rukia and Orihime.

"Wow, you sure are really fast. Do you cook a lot?" Rukia asked. Momo nodded again and whispered a quiet 'yeah'. In fact she had cooked a lot during the past years. She was used to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday and over the time she really learned to love it. It kept her from thinking about her life.

Orihime took the tomatoes from Momo and threw them into a bid pot on the stove top. Adding a few spices and the small meatballs she stirred the sauce. "Now we only need to wait a little longer till it's finished," she said. "Momo, could you please take a look at the noodles in that pot over there?" The girl did as she was told.

Rukia and Orihime felt kinda awkward about the silence between them and the little brown haired girl and tried to come up with some ideas to start a conversation which awfully failed. They didn't knew what to talk about since they didn't knew Momo well enough but the problem was solved as soon as Rangiku came in the kitchen with a sake bottle in her hands.

"Orihime!!! The sake is empty. I need some mor- Oh!" she exclaimed when she saw Momo standing by the stove, cooking dinner with the other orange-haired teenager. "Momo! What are you doing here?" "She's helping with dinner," Rukia answered for her.

"Oh great!" Rangiku grinned. "Are you ready soon? I could eat twice as much as a bear."

"I don't know." Orihime turned to Momo. "Are the noodles ready yet?" Taking a quick look at the content of the pot Momo shacked her head. "Not yet."

"Could you fill an extra plate when you're finished? I don't want taicho to starve." Rangiku flashed Momo a big grin but the girl could give her only a confused look.

"W-Who's 'taicho'?" She asked but her voice was to low for the others to hear. "What?" they asked.

Blushing Momo repeated her question a bit louder. "W-who's that 'taicho'?"

Rangiku let herself fall down on a chair next to Rukia and took one of the grapes in a white cup on the table.

"I'm calling Hitsugaya that." "But why?" Momo not getting why Toshiro had such a strange nickname.

"Mhm," Rangiku mumbled thinking about her reasons to call the genius 'taicho'. "One he's always acting pretty bossy; ordering us around like 'Matsumoto go to school', 'I told you to call me Hitsugaya, Ichigo' or simply 'do this and that'. But it's actually not annoying or anything. I think if he wouldn't tell us what to do everything would go out of hand around here. I mean, it's only thanks to him that I go to school regularly. Well, and on the other side he's the captain of our school's soccer team." Momo nodded showing that she understood.

It took them another few minutes to finish the preparations for dinner but finally everyone sad on the table talking about random things. Momo just stayed silent and listened to the chats of Toshiro's friends. It seemed like he'd really hold on to the habit of letting everyone calling him by his surname like he already had in his childhood.

After eating dinner, Momo was just about to put some plates in the dishwasher when Matsumoto griped her by the wrist. "Come on, I'll show you where you can sleep!" And before the small girl could even protest Rangiku dragged her out of the kitchen. Momo stumbled after her trying not to fall over her own legs and actually managed to stay on her feed until they finally reached their destination.

Rangiku pushed the door open and for some seconds Momo forgot how to breath. In the middle of the big room stood a king-sized bed with beautiful red bedsheets and three huge pillows. On the opposite of the room stood a giant closet and some bookshelves.

"You'll stay here for the time being, 'kay?" The orange-haired woman smiled happily. "I hope you like it."

Momo nodded in trance starring at the room. "It's so beautiful," she whispered more to herself.

Rangiku clapped her hands. "I'm glad you like it!" She exclaimed. "I wasn't sure whether you brought something to sleep so I'll borrow you one of my pajamas. I laid it on the bed."

"Err...T-Thank you."

"Ah no problem. Did I forget something? Oh yeah, the bathroom is down the hallway the last door on the right. Do you need anything else?"

A bit confused by the much talking Momo shook her head lightly.

"Just scream when you need something, okay? Good night."

Suddenly the big-breasted woman hugged the fragile girl in front of her tightly. Momo grew immediately stiff but before she could react Rangiku released her and went out of the room closing the door behind her.

As soon as Momo was alone she felt how tired she actually was. She changed into the pajamas Rangiku had left for her (It was way too big for her but she tried do ignore it) and let herself fall in the big bed. It's been a while since she felt something so soft. It felt wonderful.

Momo crawled under the blanked and soon fell asleep.

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**Note from the Beta:** Phew, I bet I overlooked some things but, oh well :D If you would've taken a look at the original you would pity me... just kidding :D I'm just mean like that and have to embarrass my friend a bit^^~ Seeing I was already told the whole story I can only say: Mwhahahaha, you guys and gals don't even know what'll await you!! Haha!! Seriously, this story is going to be awesome xD Greetings xD

**Well my beta reader knows how the story will continue cause I'm always telling her non- stop XD I think she's kinda annoyed (But she'll survive)**

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**Okay guy this is important now:**

**I changed the rating (again). Until know I wasn't sure how exactly I'll write the previous chapters but I finally decided that 'T'- rating should be enough. I sorry if there's any confusion!**

**I don't know yet whether Gin should be a good or a bad guy... If he'll be a bad he's one of Aizens men and has something to do with Momos past. If he'll be a good one Rangiku is going to be reaaalllyyy happy. Please tell me what you think! Thank you XD**

**Well that's it so far XD Please review 'kay? I would be happy to hear your opinions to the story!!**

**~greetings***


	5. Chapter 5

**YAY here's finally the 5. chapter XD Enjoy!!**

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With a small shriek Momo shoot up, panting heavily. The nightmares weren't new for the fragile girl at all and she always tried not to think about them but still, she wished she could just once sleep without dreaming these terrible things.

Looking around Momo noticed that she had been sleeping in an unfamiliar beautiful room. It took her a few seconds to remember that she was at Toshiro's house and that his friends had invited her to stay here for some time.

Toshiro

Immediately something in Momo's chest hurt again. She was pretty sure that he was still angry at her and even if his friends were really nice and friendly to her, she wanted nothing more but for him to forgive her. He was the only person in the world whom she really trusted and if he hated her she wouldn't know what to do.

Trying to focus on something else Momo shoved the warm blanket of her and walked slowly to the door. It was still early but she needed something to do and distract herself a bit.

Hesitantly, she walked through the hallways until she finally reached the kitchen where the other ones were eating breakfast.

"Morning," greeted Renji who sad next to Rukia at the kitchen table chewing some toast.

"Good morning," Momo answered but it was too quiet for the others to understand. Rolling his eyes Renji swallowed the rest of his breakfast down and looked at her. "Damn it you really need to learn how to speak louder," he complained.

"Shut up, idiot!" Rukia muttered. "It's none of your business whether she speaks loud or not."

"Good Morning Momo," said Orihime and placed a plate with a toast, some ham and an orange for Momo on the table. "Did you sleep well?"

"How could she?" Ichigo chuckled. "I mean, look at her. Rangiku's pyjama is way too big for her." The brown-haired girl blushed and looked down at herself. Ichigo was right, the pyjama was too big for her.

"Well, you could give her some of yours instead," Rangiku said as she came into the kitchen. "Hey Momo."

"I think we should go or else we'll be late for school," Rukia said. "Hurry and go change Rangiku. I really don't want to be late for Chemistry again or Kurotsuchi-sensei will make me clean up his labor as punishment."

"I won't go to school today."

"Why?" Ichigo asked.

"We can't just leave our little Momo alone in that huge house," Rangiku said and a sly grin appeared on her face.

"You're unbelievable," Ichigo said rolling his eyes. "Toshiro will kill you if he finds out that you're skipping school again."

"Not _again_!" The woman defended herself.

"But, anyways, we really should leave now." Renji grabbed his bag from the floor and walked out of the room saying a simple bye. The others followed him and Momo and Rangiku were left alone.

"Okay, here's the plan," the orange-haired woman said. "We'll eat something for breakfast since I haven't eaten yet and you haven't either. Then I'll show you the house and afterwards we can do something fun alright?" Confused by the woman's fast speaking Momo just nodded in agreement.

The two girls sat down and started eating the toasts Orihime had left on the table for them. They didn't talk much but as soon as they were finished Rangiku jumped up.

"Okay," she cheered. "Now let's start our little tour through the house!" Grabbing Momo at the wrist Rangiku rushed out of the room and into the hallway.

The house was gigantic. It had ten bedrooms, three living rooms and even a little library. Rangiku explained even the tiniest detail to Momo who just walked after her and simply listened. Rangiku told her that the library had been Hitsugaya's idea and that he went there as much as he could.

Even though nobody had said a thing Momo knew that her childhood friend still hadn't come out of his room yet and she couldn't help but to feel guilty about it. When they'd been little he always locked himself away when he was angry or sad but with a few nice words and a bit patience Momo had always managed to get him out again. Now she wasn't sure whether he would calm down by her words or if she had the courage to talk to him, even if it was through a door.

It took them more than two hours to finish their tour but only because Rangiku stopped every few steps and stared talking about random things like sake or parties. She told Momo about their home parties and how good the vodka from Russia would taste. Momo didn't care about alcohol but as polite as she was she let Rangiku speak about whatever she wanted and when they finally sad down to relax the blonde asked the question she was dying to know the answer of.

"You told us something about a misunderstanding between you and Taicho. What is it?" Hesitating first Momo took a deep breath. She knew exactly what she would say and it seemed like Rangiku was a nice - and talkative – person, too, so why shouldn't she hear the story?

"It's nothing special actually... I've been living with Toshiro and his oba-san until I moved to my father when I was ten. He was a banker so sometimes he had to attend some business meetings all over the world and that one time he wanted me to come with him. I was so excited I told it Toshiro right away but shortly before the trip I got sick. Since the meeting would've been in Spain and I wasn't in any condition to fly my father asked our neighbors to look after me. Well, and then the accident at the airport happened and I'm only still alive because I was sick. Luckily our neighbors were kind enough to let me stay with them so i didn't had to go into an orphanage..." Momo sighed and closed her eyes. It was unexpected easy to talk like that but maybe it was because she wished so badly everything would have been just like she had said.

Rangiku looked at Momo and the girl silently begged that she would believe her. It seemed like she was lucky.

"Why haven't you told Taicho? I'm sure you knew that he'd think you were dead." Momo lowered her head. Now came the part no one was allowed to know.

"When I heard that my father died I couldn't stop crying. I didn't speak or eat properly for more than two months and I was afraid that Toshiro would be angry with me when I would contact him. I really wanted to call him but I never knew what to say so I always told myself 'I will call him _tomorrow_'." Even though Momo didn't know Rangiku for long yet, she still felt guilty for lying to her. _But I can't tell anybody, _she told herself. _Who knows what they would think of me..._

"Mhm..." Rangiku made. "I know what you mean. Taicho can be really scary when he's mad." Momo only nodded. She didn't know what to say.

"Enough with the sad stories now," Rangiku suddenly cheered and jumped up. "I haven't showed you our backyard yet!"

Momo followed the woman through a big French door from the living room on a big sheltered terrace. The floor was stoned with polished marble and in every corner stood some plants. In the middle were a big garden table with eight chairs on a white carpet.

"So what do you think?" Taking her eyes from the beautiful terrace, Momo focused on the yard behind it and for a second her heart stood still.

The Backyard was full of trees and bushes just like a little park and wherever Momo looked she saw blooming spring flowers.

"It's wonderful." She whispered.

"Well I'm glad you like it," came promptly the answer. "Do you want to wander around by yourself so you can see everything? The yard is really big, you can't even see the end of it from here; I'm sure you'd love it!"

Momo smiled faintly. She had always loved to explore their garden with Toshiro when they were kids but as wonderful as it sounded to walk through that small paradise Momo knew that she couldn't do that. So she shook her head lightly signaling Rangiku that she would not go.

"Why not?" Rangiku asked surprised. She'd been sure that her Taicho's friend would say yes.

"I've never seen something that beautiful before and I know I'll just miss it when I leave, so there's no point in looking around." She said in a low tone.  
"Who said that you would leave?" The orange-haired woman next to her exclaimed. Momo lowered her heat. Probably Rangiku would be angry at her when she said that she'd leave soon and if someone was angry Momo knew she would be in pain soon.

"Toshiro doesn't want me here."

"How do you want to know?"

"I know he hasn't come out of his room yet... I don't want to bother him or you, so I think it would be the best if I'd leave this evening," Momo answered preparing herself for a punishment.

"Oh, stupid Taicho!" Rangiku half yelled and threw her hands in the air. However, she stopped in her movements when Momo winced and automatically backed away from her. Staring at the girl for a short time Rangiku put her hands down and asked "Hey, are you okay?"

Slowly Momo raised her head again and stared into the ice-blue eyes of the woman in front of her. Why wasn't she angry at her? And why hadn't she slapped her like everyone usually did?

Hesitantly the girl relaxed a bit and nodded "E-er yes, sorry..."

Giving the girl an odd look Rangiku decided not to say anything about Momo's strange behavior.

"You're not a burden, you know?" She said gently. She wanted to convince her to stay a little longer. "Let's make a deal. If Taicho hasn't come out until tomorrow morning no one will force you to stay here. But you'll at least stay over the night, 'kay?" Seeing that Rangiku really meant what she said Momo nodded lightly whispering a quiet 'yes'.

Just as Rangiku was about to say something else they heard someone call her name. "Oi, Rangiku?! We're back!"

"EH?" the big-breasted woman made. "You're back already?"

"What do you mean 'already? It's 4 p.m."

And with that Rangiku walked back into the house leaving Momo behind.

~XXXXXXXXX~

Hitsugaya laid on his bed with his arms crossed behind his head and starred at the ceiling of his room. He hadn't moved for hours, he didn't even went to the bathroom once. The whole last night he'd been thinking and remembering about his past.

Momo

He'd been so sure that she'd left the world for good and yet she was in this house right now, probably chatting with the others and waiting for him to come down. She was here. At exactly this moment she was downstairs only a few meters away from him. But how? Until she stood in front of him, Toshiro had refused to accept his friend's death and know that he knew that she was still alive he refused to believe that she really was.

He remembered the day his oba-san told him about the accident so clearly; he had been watching TV in the living room when the phone rang and oba-san answered it. He hadn't heard the conversation between the elderly woman and the person at the other end, he hadn't cared about it anyway. Until his grandmother came into the room. Her face was sad and full of shock and the young boy knew immediately that something horrible has happened.

'Toshiro...' had oba-san said and a tear rolled down her cheek. 'There had been a terrible accident. Two planes clashed into each other at the Tokyo airport. No one survived...' His heart had become heavy by her words. What had a accident in Tokyo to do with him here in Karakura Town? But the boy wasn't called a genius for nothing. The bed-wetter was in Tokyo. She should have been at the airport by this time.

'Where's Momo?' He had asked trying not to sound afraid or weak. He failed.

His grandmother could only shake her head. 'I'm so sorry...'

A light knock at his door pulled Toshiro away from his thoughts. Someone outside tried to come in but he'd locked the door from the inside. The person knocked again but Toshiro still didn't answer.

"Taicho?" It was Matsumoto. "Are you alright in there?"

Said teen didn't say anything but this wouldn't keep the woman from trying to get him out.

"Momo has been here the whole day." She told him. "She is a really nice person. I've skipped school and showed her the whole house and the backyard and I think she kinda fell in love with our garden. You should have seen her! Her eyes went as big as my boobies when she saw all the flowers and trees."

Oh yeah, that sounded so much like the bed-wetter. Getting big eyes by the view of something as simple as that was so typical for her...

Toshiro heard some rustle outside when Rangiku sat down on the floor and leaned with her back against the closed door. "She told me what happened... The accident I mean. You remember that she and her father wanted to fly to Spain, don't you?" Of cause he remembered.

"Well, she got sick shortly before the flight so her father had to go without her, letting her stay at their neighbors. She wasn't even near the airport. After she'd heard about her fathers death in the plane-crash she couldn't stop crying for something like two months. She told me that she hadn't even eaten properly and when she finally calmed down she was too scared to call you. Momo didn't want you to be angry at her for not telling you sooner that she was alright. With every day it became harder to call you Taicho, until it must have been impossible for her..."

After that Matsumoto fell silent waiting for him to respond but he never said a word.

"She will leave tomorrow in the morning. She doesn't what to be a burden to us."

The woman sat there five more minutes before she finally got up and went down without saying anything more.

In his room Toshiro let it all sink into his mind. So Momo was now the same as him. An orphan. His parents died in a car accident when he was three years old, leaving his grandmother to take care of him. Momo had been living a few blocks further that time but since their parents had been friends since college they saw each other almost every day. When Momo's Mom left her father without saying a word her Dad asked Toshiro's grandmother to let the girl stay with them. He'd often been on business trips and he couldn't take his little daughter with him since she had to attend school and everything. Then he died at the airport and Momo probably stayed at her neighbors or in an orphanage.

She wasn't dead. In fact she was here right now and he didn't even go down. He didn't knew why.

So he just kept on laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about his past.

~XXXXXXXXX~

Momo and Orihime stood in the kitchen preparing dinner again while Renji and Rukia were arguing about something in the living room and the rest of the guys were somewhere in the garden or the house.

Apparently time had gone by pretty fast and it was already 7 in the evening. Rangiku and Momo had totally lost the track of time until the others had come back from school and now they were already making something for dinner.

Kira had come by after school and was playing soccer with Ichigo on a big meadow in the middle of the backyard when Rangiku came to them sitting down in the grass. Stopping their game the two teens turned around to the woman.

"So what did he say?" Ichigo asked.

"Nothing. I didn't even hear him move or anything when I told him that I skipped school." Rangiku sighted.

"Just leave him... He'll come down when he wants."

"But Momo will leave tomorrow morning, baka! If he hasn't come down by then they won't be able to talk everything out."

"And what if Hitsugaya doesn't want to talk with her?" Kira asked earning a glare from Rangiku.

"Shut up Kira," she said. "Of course he wants to talk to her."

"How do you know?

"... I told you to shut up!"

"It's better not to push them," Kira said. "What if they'll only argue?"

"Arguing is better than nothing!"

"Let's go inside guys," Ichigo interrupted. "Orihime and Momo should be ready with dinner."

"Mhm," Rangiku just made

Following the boys into the house she couldn't stop thinking about her Taicho and his childhood friend. If Momo would seriously leave the next morning, there was no possibility that they could ever rebuilt their friendship and even if they would argue there would be a little chance for them to make up again.

I just hope Taicho will come down before she leaves... the woman thought and walked into the kitchen where her friends already sat at the table eating some meat loaf with potatoes and beans.

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**Wow that's the longest chapter I've ever written o.O**

**I kinda rushed the end –or rather the whole chapter- so it really sucks... but I hope you like it anyways!!**

**Oh yeah about the updates; I swear I'm always trying to update weekly or at least every 2 weeks but that's impossible right now... I have so much to do for school and everything else =(**

**Please review, kay? I would be really happy XD**

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**oh and what I forgot to tell you; **

**- the content of Momos nightmares will be a little secret for a while **

**- and could you all do me a small favor? check this HitsuHina- story out /s/5637326/1/Sanya_Cold_Winternights**

**and please review or my beta reader is going to be desperate ='(**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys XD Well, here's final****ly the 6. chapter. Sorry you had to wait so long... Gomenasai!!**

**Thanks for your answers to my question about Gin. I can't decide yet whether he'll be evil or not but it's really a great help to know your opinions ;] your ideas are always welcome :)**

**I did my best to make this chapter longer than the other ones before O.o**

**Please enjoy XD**

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He hadn't come out yet.

And he probably wouldn't come out anytime soon either.

Momo sat on the bed with her arms wrapped around her thin knees and looked at a small stuffed animal in front of her. Just like the many nights before she'd awoken early because of the nightmares and couldn't go back to sleep but she didn't knew why. Maybe she was simply too afraid of dreaming again...

Not wanting to think about the reasons of her wakefulness she had focused her mind on her little stuffed animal.

It was a sweet brown puppy with a fiery collar and a small bell which couldn't tinkle anymore. Momo had gotten the dog in her childhood and had always taken really good care of it.

*Flashback*

"_Here you go, young man," the friendly woman from the booth on the fair said and gave Toshiro a small brown plush-dog._

"_Oh, Shiro-chan, you're so lucky!" Momo smiled. "You hit every single target with the balls! I couldn't even get one..."_

"_That's because you're the baka-bed-wetter," the white-haired boy answered with a cheeky smirk on his face making Momo pout. "It's childish to call me that, Shiro-chan! I'm not wetting my bed anymore."_

The grin disappeared from Toshiro's face. He hated being called childish and Momo knew that fully well. She did that on purpose.

"_You're stupid for calling me that damn nickname and besides, you're younger than me and always acting like a baby so you're the only childish one around here," he snapped back at the girl but she simply giggled._

"_What's so funny?" _

"_You may be older but I'm still a few inches taller than you," she said trying not to laugh at his red face._

"_Shut up, idiot," Toshiro growled and without warning he gripped one of her pigtails, pulling on it._

"_Ahhh! Shiro-chan stop it!" Momo shrieked, but the boy didn't listen._

"_Shiro-chan, please!"_

"_I don't know who you're talking to, baka." Toshiro grinned. He would only release her if she'd ask him properly. "Stop it, Toshiro! I'm sorry for calling you Shiro-chan," Momo whined and, finally, he let her go with a small grin back on his face. She'd called him by his name and she'd apologized. That was enough._

"_Here," he said and threw the puppy into the girls arms. "I don't need it..." _

Momo looked from him to the puppy in her arms and back while a big smile spread across her face.

"_You mean I can have it?" The boy nodded. "Thank you so much!" She laughed and gave him a really tight hug. Blushing lightly the boy tried his best to get his friend off him, but failed. "Oi, let go, bed-wetter," he commanded, growling when some passing people stopped and looked at them making the typical oh-so-cute sight._

Finally Momo stepped back and smiled sweetly at him.

"_You know what?" She asked. "I'm going to call her Tobiume."_

"_How did you come up with that name?" Toshiro asked rubbing his neck which was still hurting from the embrace the girl gave him a few seconds ago._

"_I don't know, I think I just like it. How did you came up with 'Hyourinmaru' for the dragon you've won the last year on the fair?"_

"_Don't remember," he just replied._

"_Hey, Toshiro will you go with me to the roller coasters?"_

"_Sure, I can but you won't have the guts to go on them," the boy teased. "Mou, that's not nice!" Momo pouted again._

Toshiro only smirked. "But it's true."

The girl glared t him. "I'll show you," she said. "Come on Shiro-chan let's go to that one!" Excited the girl pointed at a coaster near them and pulled a growling Toshiro with her. She would never learn to use his real name...

*Flashback End*

Momo hadn't noticed that tears had started to fall down her cheeks. Slowly she raised her hand wiping the tears away but new ones kept on coming so she gave up trying to dry her face. Crying she rested her head on her knees letting a tiny part of her sorrow flow away with her tears.

She didn't cry long though. Over the time she had learned how to lock up her sorrow and tears and in times like these she could just sit down thinking about her problems or her past with her childhood friend and family. Her happy memories had always been a great help when she was sad but one day she had just reached the point where even the thoughts of her childhood couldn't take all the pain away. The best was to think about nothing and to do that Momo needed something to do, something to distract her mind.

Before the girl could stand up the door suddenly flew open and a cheery Rangiku burst in. "Good morning Momo!" She sang happily but immediately stopped in her movements when she saw Momo's face. "Oh my god! What's wrong?" She exclaimed rushing over to the bed where the peach was sitting.

"Nothing," she answered, trying her best to smile even though she failed.  
"You don't have to hide it," Rangiku said and sat down on the bed. "You can tell me, I mean, we're friends aren't we?"

A bit startled Momo looked in the woman's face, but before she could say anything she suddenly found herself in a hug. Almost instantly she tensed.

First Rangiku had called them friends and now she was embracing her? Momo didn't understand. Rangiku barely knew her so why would she possibly think of them being friends? Something would definitely happen! Momo couldn't help but start shaking.

"Is it because of Taicho?" Rangiku asked rubbing the girls bag gently. "I'm sure he'll come soon enough. Just trust me, okay?"

Not knowing what to do Momo only nodded. They had agreed that she would leave after they had eaten breakfast and until now Rangiku had managed to delay everything for so long that it was already near lunch time. But Toshiro was still locked inside his room...

Knowing that she couldn't make Momo stay any longer Rangiku finally suggested to go downstairs to eat something. Breaking the embrace they went into the kitchen where something to eat stood on a tray. Grinning at the questioning expression on the peach's face Matsumoto took the tray and went on the terrace where some of the others where sitting.

"We're eating outside whenever the weather is nice," Rangiku explained and put the breakfast on the table. Since all the others had already eaten a long time ago they would eat lunch while Momo ate her breakfast.

During her meal the girl only looked at the backyard trying to engrave it's sight into her mind. It was so beautiful. She was pulled back to reality when Rukia hit Ichigo so hard on the back of his head that his face landed in his soup causing everyone to laugh at the top of their lungs. While Orihime rushed inside to get some towels, Ichigo yelled at Rukia who just laughed twice as hard as the others.

"Rukia!! I swear when I get a hold of your sorry ass!!" And with that he started chasing her around the yard, not even bothering to clean his face first.

Momo looked around. Everyone seemed so happy and carefree it was almost contagious and for just one short second Momo thought about staying here forever. Even if she couldn't relax around these 'strangers' she still hoped that when Toshiro would finally come out everything would be alright. He once promised her he would always protect her and Momo believed in that vow with all her heart. But she hadn't kept her part of the promise, which was to stay by Toshiro's side forever, so why would he bother to keep his?

*Flashback*

_With her arms slung around his neck, Momo sat in Toshiro's bed crying against his shoulder. The boy gently – but still somewhat hesitantly – rubbed her back, trying to calm her down._

"_Shiro-chan, I'm scared," she sobbed over and over soaking his pajama with her tears._

"_Baka-bed-wetter," the boy answered. "The thunder storm can't hurt you, how many times do I have to tell you that?"_

_In exactly this moment they_ _heard the loud noise of the rolling thunder. The girl shrieked and pressed her small body as close as she could against her friend._

"_But it's so loud! Please_ _make it go away Shiro-chan!" She pleaded him._

"_I can't."_

"_Why not? You're the boy genius!"_

Toshiro sighed. Even if he would tell her a hundred times that he couldn't just make the storm outside go away, she wouldn't believe him. That's just how she was... But the boy had something else in mind. He couldn't stop the storm like Momo asked him to, but he could make her trust him that nothing could hurt her.

"_I don't need to make it stop," he simply told her._

"_Why?" _

"_Because the thunder is just loud, it won't hurt you and our house has a lightning protector. And if everything goes wrong I'll protect you myself okay?"_

The girl's sobbing calmed a bit down and finally she looked up into his emerald eyes.

"_Promise?"_

"_Yeah."_

Smiling she sat up. Toshiro smirked to himself. She had calmed down this time but as soon as the next storm would come she'll sit in his bed again crying against his chest.

"_Then I'll promise you to stay with you forever," Momo said and Toshiro's smirk almost (just almost) became a smile._

"_Then it's a deal."_

*Flashback end*

Someone tapped Momo on the shoulder. The girl turned around and saw Orihime looking at her with her big and friendly eyes.

"Is there anything left you need to do before you leave?" She asked. "I could help you packing the rest of your belongings."

Momo lightly shook her head. "I'm already finished packing everything," she answered. Actually, she hadn't even packed out. She hadn't much with her anyway...

"I think I should go now," she stood up and walked back into the living room and went up to her room to get her bag.

Outside on the terrace Orihime turned to Rangiku. "Should we really let her go?" She asked but Rangiku didn't answer. She simply stood up as well and went inside going to Toshiro's room.

XXXXXXXXX

Someone knocked against the door. Hitsugaya turned his head to the side and kept quiet.

"She's leaving, Taicho," Of course it was Rangiku again...

"Don't you think it's selfish to stay in there the whole time? You haven't eaten anything and Momo is blaming herself for that... I can see how much it hurts her to leave again and it's your fault that she feels that way. Just because you act like a spoiled child that doesn't get what it wants." Hitsugaya clenched his fists. He'd been thinking about Momo the whole last night and finally had come to a point where he had accepted her being alive. He even was honestly happy. But what Rangiku said was hard. And true...

"Just get a grip Taicho," Rangiku told him. "Please."

He could hear her walk away and suddenly he jumped up and went straight to the door. But before he reached for the handle he stopped with his hand stretched out.

Why couldn't he go down?

Why?

He only knew that he was still confused and that this confusion was preventing him from going downstairs.

Damn it.

XXXXXXXXX

Everyone stood in front of the house saying good-bye to Momo.

"Thank you for letting me stay," the girl said with her look fixed on the ground.

"You can still change your opinion and stay here," Renji told her. "He's right," Rukia added. "I'm sure if we give Hitsugaya a bit more time he will–" But Momo shook her head.

"I don't want to bother him or you," she almost whispered. "He showed clearly that he doesn't want me here..."

"I swear as soon as that midget comes out I'm going to beat the crap out of him," Ichigo growled and groaned when Rukia hit him. "Damn it, what was that for?" He yelled. "You won't beat him up, moron!" The black-haired girl yelled back. "You'll lie half death on the ground before you even touch him!"

Ignoring the two next to her Rangiku stepped forward to Momo.

"You have to promise me to visit us one day and when you do we'll have the greatest sake-party in your life, 'kay?" She said and hugged the girl who tensed again at the sudden embrace. She wouldn't come back but the girl still nodded.

"Bye Momo," Orihime said

"Bye," she answered and started walking down the path to the gate. She didn't knew where she could stay now but for the moment she tried not to worry about that. First she simply had to–

"Where do you think you're going, baka?"

Momo froze. She'd just imagined hearing him, didn't she?

Slowly she turned around and her eyes went wide. There he stood with his white hair sparkling in the sun and his green eyes looking directly in her brown ones. He came out. Toshiro had finally come out.

For the first time in years Momo felt truly happy. Without thinking any further she ran towards him and jumped right into his arms. She hugged him so tight that she was almost afraid to break his neck but even if she wanted to she couldn't let him go.

Toshiro pressed her against him as well not bothering about his friends standing around watching the whole scene. He hadn't felt so carefree for a long time and having Momo in his arms gave him so much back of what he had lost.

After a while which seemed like eternity he sat her back on the ground looking down at her with a small smile.

Yes, Toshiro Hitsugaya, the Prince of Ice, seriously smiled. Even if it was only a small one.

"I'm finally taller than you," he said to her and she just smiled. She was about to say something, too, but got disturbed by a pair of giant boobs.

"Taicho!" Rangiku cheered hugging both teenagers tightly.

"Matsumoto, keep your hands off me," Toshiro growled.

"What's about Momo now?" Ichigo asked.

"She'll stay of course," Rangiku said.

"Shouldn't you ask her first?"

"There's no need to ask!" Rangiku gave back. "She'll stay, end of the discussion." And with that she grabbed Momo by the wrist and pulled her inside of the house ignoring Hitsugaya's glare.

They sat down in the living room and immediately the orange-haired woman started talking.

"Great, we have one more person living with us! It's going to be so much fun!" She jumped up and ran to the phone.

"What are you doing, Matsumoto?" Toshiro asked.

"I'm calling everyone! We have to celebrate!"

"Don't even think about it, idiot," the teen snapped at her. "You're only using that for an excuse to drink."

"That's so mean, Taicho!"

"Shut up," Toshiro felt someone pulling lightly at the sleeve of his blue shirt. He turned his head and saw Momo looking at him with an unsure expression in her eyes.

"Is it really okay if I stay?" She whispered to him making him sigh.

"Of course it is," he answered. "Why don't you help Orihime make some snaks while we'll discuss everything else?" The girl nodded and went into the kitchen not noticing Toshiro's gaze following her. _She's pretty thin, _he thought but shoved his thoughts aside.

No one had anything against her staying and when they told Momo she seemed to be really relieved even if she tried to hide it.

"You'll get the room you've been staying in if that's okay with you, and of course you'll attend the same school as us," Rukia told her. Toshiro watched his friend while the others were talking to her and he couldn't help but to notice her strange behavior. When she was young she used to be shy but it never lasted long before she completely opened up and smiled at everything around her. Now it wasn't just shyness... The peaceful expression in her eyes was gone and was replaced by a very different emotion. Toshiro almost didn't want to find out what it was. It seemed to be something between pain, sorrow and, most of all, fear. He didn't like that.

He tried not to think about it and he swore himself that he would bring the happy gleam in her eyes back. But for now he was just glad to have his childhood friend back and he knew she felt the same.

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***YAY* He finally came out XD**

**I'm not really satisfied with the end but hopefully you liked it anyways... You know what? A friend of mine told me that I have no self- confidence so please send me a nice review so I can built up some ;]**

**That's it for now**

**I promise I'll try to update soon! Review please ^-^**

**~greetings***


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm so freaking sorry that I took so long to update! Sumimasen! I've been in the last weeks before summer break so I had to study pretty much in order to pass all my tests... It was quite hard but I somehow managed XD**

**Please don't be angry with me for not updating and enjoy the chapter!**

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"Good Moooooorning!" Rangiku cheered as she walked into the living room. "Finally no school for two days; ahhh I love weekends!"

"Shut up Matsumoto, you're too noisy," came the response from a certain white-haired teenager. Toshiro sat on the couch reading a book on the table in front of him while Ichigo watched TV.

"Why are you always so stinky in the early morning, Taicho?"

"Early morning? Take a good look at the watch, idiot, it's 1.30pm!"

Looking at the watch on her wrist Rangiku let out a surprised yelp. "Why didn't you wake me up, Taicho? You knew that I wanted to go shopping today!" She complained not noticing a small vein popping on Toshiro's forehead.

"You're old enough to wake up on your own so don't expect me to waste my time with getting you out of your bed," he snapped. Rangiku wanted to reply something but before she could say anything back at the teen Momo came in, interrupting the argument.

"Ohayo Rangiku," she said with a small smile on her lips.

"Ohayo," Rangiku greeted back, hugging the fragile girl without realizing how the girl tensed by the sudden contact. But that doesn't mean that Toshiro didn't see it.

"We left something for you to eat in the fridge if you're hungry," Momo told her as soon as she was released from the embrace. Rangiku nodded gratefully and the two girls went into the kitchen. After Momo got some chopsticks and Matsumoto took the foot out of the large fridge, they sat down at the kitchen table and Rangiku started eating.

"Do you have any plans today?" Momo gave the woman next to her a puzzled look, not knowing where this would lead to.

"Iya, not yet," she answered.

"That's great." Rangiku smiled. "I wanted to go shopping today but no one of the ones I asked was free today. Are you coming with me?"

Momo looked at her, unsure what to say. She didn't have any money so going shopping was kinda pointless.

"You only have this to wear, right? They seem to be uncomfortable," Matsumoto said and pointed at what the girl was wearing.

Momo blushed at the statement. It was true she had only the clothes she was wearing at the moment; a simple white top and old jeans. She hadn't been able to bring anything else with her and now that Rangiku mentioned it, it was really quite uncomfortable to wear them.

Rangiku took the girl's silence as a yes to her answer whether they'd go together and jumped up.

"Come on let's get going!" She cheered and dragged Momo back through the living room and into the hallway.

"Oi, Matsumoto where are you two going?" Toshiro, who was still sitting on the couch, asked.

"Shopping!" Rangiku simply answered while she slipped into her shoes. As soon as she and Momo were ready they went out of the house and to the cars standing in the driveway. Rangiku pulled some keys out of her jacket and opened a red BMW M3.

Momo stood five feet away from the car, staring at it and not daring to come any closer. She'd never been so close to something so expensive looking and she was afraid to damage anything. A scratch on the paint would be beyond expensive.

"What's wrong?" Rangiku asked. "Get in already!"

Carefully opening the door Momo sat down on the passenger seat and fastened her seat belt. As soon as she sat Rangiku started the engine and took of.

"I'm so exited!" Rangiku said. "There's a 50 off sale in one of my favorite stores today! They have the best and cutest clothes ever, I swear you'll love it!" Momo just put on a fake smile. She'd once loved shopping with friends but now she couldn't stand it. There were always too many people in one room...

After ten minutes of driving they finally reached 'Karakura shopping mall', the greatest mall in the whole town. After leaving the car in the parking block next to the mall and went inside the huge building, Momo couldn't help but to be amazed. Wherever she looked were shops and people. Even though she'd lived in Karakura town for half of her life, she didn't knew about the shopping center yet, since it was built during during the time she lived in Tokyo.

"If you don't mind I'd like to go to that shop I told you about first. I'd die if I'd miss the sale."

Momo simply smiled at her and nodded a 'yes'.

Following the woman through the mall, the girl looked around observing the ado around her. They didn't have to walk for long until they reached the store Rangiku had been talking about. In the shop window hung a big poster with the lettering "50% off".

Matsumoto dragged Momo into the store and left immediately to find some clothes.

Momo stood at the entrance of the store and looked around. There were two floors completely filled with shirts, jeans, sweaters... They were all really sweet but since she couldn't buy anything Momo tried not to look at them closely.

"Momo!" Said girl looked up to see Rangiku standing on the stairs leading to the second floor, waving at her. "Come upstairs," she yelled through the whole store not bothering about the other customers eying her strangely. Momo blushed at the weird glances the other people gave her because of Rangiku and quickly went upstairs.

Rangiku stood in front of the fitting rooms with a huge pile of clothes on the sofa next to her.

"I'm gonna try these on" The woman explained. "Could you help me a bit?"

"What do you need my help for?" The peach asked.

"Well, I need someone to tell me how I look like," Rangiku said. Momo simply nodded in agreement and sat down on the couch. She didn't understand what Rangiku needed her opinion for, since the woman should like the things she was wearing herself and not the others around her, but Momo didn't complain.

It took Matsumoto only a few seconds until she'd changed into the first outfit. "What do you think?" She asked. She wore a blue tank top which hugged her curves tightly under a white jacket and some dark green hot pants. It fit her pretty good.

"It's nice," Momo told her and a big grin spread across the woman's face.

"Really?" Momo nodded.

"Then I'm gonna gonna buy it!" Rangiku said and went back into the fitting room to change into the second outfit. This time it was a jeans mini with a light pink shirt and some black boots. Again she looked great.

It took almost an hour for Rangiku to try all of the clothes on and as soon as she decided to buy every single one of them she suddenly disappeared, telling Momo to wait a few minutes. When the woman came back she held some more shirts and pants in her arms and dropped them on the confused peach's lap.

"Try them on okay?" The girl looked at her and her confusion reached its limit. "W-why?" She asked surprised.

"Just go change already!" Rangiku laughed and gently pushed Momo with a light yellow dress into the cubicle.

The girl stood there a few seconds not knowing what to do. She hated undressing herself in public even if was in a changing room where basically no one was able to see her. "Are you done?" Rangiku called out to her and said girl jumped lightly. She didn't wanted to upset the other female so she quickly started to strip her top down.

Outside Rangiku waited patiently for her friend to come out. When she did the woman couldn't suppress a proud grin. The dress reached a little bit about her knees and hugged her fragile body nicely, so all in all it fit her perfectly.

"You look beautiful!" The big-breasted woman exclaimed, making the girl blush. She never had been called 'beautiful' before and she didn't knew how to response.

"Y-you think so?" She asked shyly and looked on the floor not wanting Matsumoto to see her reddened cheeks.

"Sure I do!" Rangiku chirped. A small yet happy smile rose on Momo's lips. She wasn't used to that kind of compliments but she couldn't do anything against that happy feeling raising up inside her chest. But then again, she wouldn't have the money to buy the dress even if it didn't cost too much thanks to the 50% off sale.

"Oi, what's wrong?" Matsumoto, who noticed the change in her friend's face, asked.

Momo simply shook her head lightly whispering a small "Nothing" and turned around to go back into the changing room.

As soon as she came out Rangiku took the dress out of her hands and replaced it by a blue drainpipe jeans, a white blouse and a brown belt.

"And now try these on," she said and pushed the girl back before she could say anything against it.

They went like this for another half an hour, in which Rangiku made Momo try all kind of different clothes on. Most off them looked quite good on the thin girl, and when they were finished, there was almost as huge a mountain of clothes as Rangiku's of the things Momo had tried on.

Somehow Matsumoto managed to carry all of these clothes to the register, followed by a puzzled Momo.

"A-ano, Rangiku? What are you doing?" She asked, unsure of what to say. "Aren't we supposed to bring all of these back to where we got them from?" She continued pointing at 'her' pile.

"What are you talking about?" Rangiku grinned. "We're buying these."

Momo's jaw fell so deep that it almost hit the floor.

"W-what? Demo I-I have no m-money with me so t-there's no way I could buy them," she stammered.

"That's why I'm gonna pay, silly," the woman simply replied and handed the girl eight backs filled with clothes while she took ten. "It wasn't expensive anyways. Only 40 000 yen for the tow of us, that's what I call a bargain." She said while walking out of the store but when she looked to her side she noticed that Momo wasn't there anymore. The girl stood a few feet behind her, with slopping shoulders and facing the ground. It was clear that she felt quite uncomfortable about the situation.

Sighing, Matsumoto walked to the girl looking down at her.

"Oi," she started. "I bought them for you because I wanted to."

"B-but it was still so much money... I'm gonna pay you back one time, I promise!"

"I won't accept any money from you," Rangiku said and continued. "Listen. I don't know why and I don't want to know either but for some reason you came to us with no money and nothing to wear, which is, if you ask me, quite a bit odd. But that's not my business and I won't interfere with it if you don't want me to, but at least let me help you okay? My parents have more money then it could possibly be good for them so it doesn't matter how much of it I throw out of the window. I am your friend and I want to help you so please let me do so, okay?"

Momo looked up at the woman with big eyes. No one had ever said something like that before and she couldn't help but to feel really happy. She was really grateful.

"A-arigatou gozaimasu!" She said bowing in front of her new friend.  
"Now, now, no need to so polite." Rangiku laughed. "Come on let's get something to eat, I'm starving!"

They got some hamburger and French fries from McDonald's and sat down on a bench at the fountain in the middle of the mall.

"A-ano Rangiku?" Momo asked after she swallowed the last one of her French fries down. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," came the simple answer from the big-breasted woman who had her mouth full with some hamburger.

"How come that you and the others are living together?"

Rangiku smiled and swallowed her food down to answer. "Well, at first it's only been me and Taicho. My parents own a big cosmetic company while his uncle founded a great jacket label some years ago and when they decided to work in common they thought it would be the best for me and Taicho to live together so we wouldn't be so lonely... They bought us that huge villa and some friends of mine moved in with us because the house is to big for only two people. From time to time some other friends of us stay for a few days or rather nights and that's actually all there is to it."

Matsumoto's narrative was interrupted by the sound of her cell phone. She fished it out of her purse and flipped it open, reading some text message she just received.

"Taicho wants us to get your new school uniform on our way home," she told Momo and stood up.

"But I still need to get some new shoes first if that's alright with you."

The girl nodded, grasped her shopping back and smiled. She didn't feel uneasy around the blond woman anymore. She even started to like her.

In the shoe store it was the same as in the store before. Rangiku tried all kind of different shoes and made Momo do the same and in the end they happened to buy eleven pairs from which four were a present to Momo. Just as they were on there way back to the car they passed 'Victoria's Secret' and Rangiku, just being herself, went inside for another twenty minutes, buying undergarments for her and –of course– her friend.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Puhhh, I'm dead!" Announced Matsumoto as she let herself fall on the driver's seat of her car back in the parking block. They had some problems with getting all of their purchases in to the trunk so that they had to put some of the shopping bags on the back seat but finally every single one was stored away.

Both girls were totally exhausted and wanted nothing more than to fall in their beds, but they still had to get Momo's new school uniform. And they took of to a small shop half of their way home.

Compared to the stores in 'Karakura shopping mall' the shop was pretty small and inconspicuous. At the walls inside stood many shelves full with all different kinds of uniforms and in the back laid some fabrics, scissors, pins and a sewing machine on a desk and chair.

"Kiriko?" Called Rangiku. "Are you there?"

From a separated room came some sounds as if something was shoved aside and out came a woman in her mid-thirties with long, black hair.

"Ah Rangiku!" She smiled kindly. "Don't tell me you're the one who needs a new uniform! You just got one two weeks ago!"

"I can't help when my boobs grow so fast, Kiriko!" Rangiku pouted playfully. "But no, we need the uniform for my friend here," she continued and put one of her arms around Momo's shoulders.

"So that's the one Hitsugaya was talking about," the dressmaker said. "He called and told me that a friend of his needed a new uniform but he let out the tiny detail that he was talking about his girlfriend."

Rangiku giggled lightly. "Not his love but his childhood friend. She just moved in with us."

Momo felt a her face redden. Why did everyone always had to mistake her as Toshiro's lover? It had been the same way when they were little kids, people would always come and think they'd be a couple but both of them never shared any feelings beyond friendship for each other and that was still the case.

Momo couldn't imagine her being in love with Toshiro. It was just strange.

The girl was pulled back into reality when Kiriko told her to come in the back of the store where she gave her a white blouse, a gray fustanella and a jacket in the same color as the skirt.

After the peach had put on the clothes in a small cubicle, the dressmaker asked her to climb on a taboret. Momo did as she was told and listened silently to the chat between the two other women while Kiriko marked some steads on the sleeves of the jacked.

"I'll have to shorten the sleeves a bit but I think I'll be finished tomorrow," she announced.  
"Arigatou gozaimusu!" Momo said bowing down a bit to show her gratitude towards the woman who just smiled at her. "No problem, it's my job after all."

Then Kiriko turned to Rangiku. "Is it okay if I'd drop it off at your place tomorrow? I have some business in the area so I'm killing two birds with one stone."

"That would be great!" Rangiku cheered and hugged the woman. "And when you're at our place we could drink something together. It feels like it's been a hundred years since we've done that."

Kiriko laughed waving with her hands to signal that she was against the idea of getting drunk with Rangiku. "I don't think that would be a good idea. Remember what happened last time after we had our tenth vodka?"

Rangiku fell silent immediately. "Oh yeah, Taicho would kill us..." she said. "But we should get going now. Come on Momo. Ja ne Kiriko."

Momo bowed again towards the woman, whispering a small "Sayonara" and followed Rangiku out of the store.

Outside Rangiku smiled widely at Momo. "Today was pretty much fun, don't you think?"

Momo returned the smile and slid into the passenger seat. She totally agreed.

"You know what?" Rangiku asked. "I think we're gonna be great friends."

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**Translations:**

ohayo - Good morning; oi! - hey!; ano - excuse me; demo - but; arigatou gozaimasu - thank you;: ja ne/ sayonara – good bye

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**It seems like Rangiku and Momo are getting along pretty well XD Momo has finally found a friend!**

**So far that was the longest chapter I've ever ridden! I started forcing myself to write longer chapters since the first ones had been awfully short =.=***

**I hope you liked it!**

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**Woahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! You guys won't believe what I've found! There's a new Bleach musical on youtube! I found it by coincidence and it's just awesome (even thought it's not the best of all the bleach musicals...)! This time it's called "Rock Musical Bleach Live Bankai Show Code 003"**

**There's no sub yet but you really should check it out! If you haven't watched any of the rock musicals yet it would be better if you'd see "Rock Musical Bleach Live Bankai Show code 001" and "Code 002" first. Other wise you won't understand some of the jokes XD**

**Mhm.. Japan is out of the football world cup... I'm feeling sorry for them. **

**But anyways, please don't forget to review 'kay? I won't be able to respond, though, because as from the day after tomorrow I'll be on vacations for 2 weeks... that means i won't be able to read any new chapters from you guys as well :(**

**~greetings***


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